Drae grinned at Angela. "What can I say? You love me so much you knew you wanted two of me," he laughed as she shook her finger at him. This even made Iris giggle, which was a rather rare thing. More often then not, she would merely smile, but it was clear that Drae's good mood and amusement was pushing through into her. The laughter faded for a moment, and Iris gently rubbed both babies heads before she turned with Nathaniel. 

"Don't hesitate to summon me if I am needed," she insisted before she followed Nathaniel out and the pair of them headed back into the new nursery further down the hall. Her mind fell to Angela's words about how she had naturally been so good with the babies. She wondered if it was actually Master Drae's nature that was shining through her at that moment. From what she knew of her master, he was especially fond of his children, and even the children of others, though he might never admit it. 

She looked around at the scenery that she and Nathaniel had worked hard to put on the walls and looked content, while high above them the ceiling glittered with the thousands of stars that Master Drae enjoyed watching through the Occulus. She looked at the two cradles carved with different motifs to indicate which child was to sleep in them. She lightly ran her hands over the finely carved wood and looked at Nathaniel. 

"It truly is something special, isn't it? When new life enters the world?"

“Of course, thank you, Iris.” Angela gave her a smile and nodded as she grinned back up at her husband. “I’ll call you if I need my husband displaced for being too handsy early.”

Nathaniel moved about the room making sure toys were where they needed to be and listened to Iris. “Aye, some day I want children of my own.” He stopped for a moment and put his hands on one of the cribs.

“Did you know that… Aaryona had once been pregnant with twins?” His eyes drifted over to Iris. “She was distraught, her husband had died and the shock of everything…” For a moment he stopped and frowned deeply. “She miscarried them. Mother made her forget everything but when we crossed over from DaeLuin… Aary remembered. She can deal with it now but back then… She was so distraught and in such a bad place.”

He shook his head. “I am very thankful my mother is who she is now. Now she can stop something like that from happening. Now we can save children that would otherwise be lost to the Soul Stream. It makes me sad to think of my nieces or nephews. Aaryona would have been a good mother.”

"I didn't know that," Iris replied softly. "I wasn't aware that Aaryona had ever been married," she explained. Of course, if it wasn't in the Revaliir history books then Drae wouldn't have known it, and subsequently neither would she. She still felt a twinge of pity for Nathaniel's twin sister. She understood that losing a loved one was a trial in and of itself, but to suffer a miscarriage and never get to meet those that were still growing? She wasn't sure she could fathom that level of grief. 

"I think there are a great many people who are grateful for the things that Lady Angela can do now. Even when she was heavy with child she was and is capable of wondrous things," Iris mused. "And it is still possible that they will come back to her again. After all, the Soul Stream is a never ending cycle. If they were meant to be with her, surely such things will be," she said. "Aaryona has a good soul. I don't know what qualities make someone ideal for motherhood, but, I do believe that any who come into her family, or yours would be blessed." 

"I'm still trying to understand the concept of family. It is more than people just being of blood with one another, I've seen that with you and Master Drae and the other children who aren't of his lineage. The bond puzzles me sometimes… the affection that comes with it all. That especially," she told Nathaniel as she lightly went over and traced the ocean scenery on the wall. 

“It’s not something we generally talk about. It still hurts Aary to think about the babies she lost. Someday Mother is going to atone for what she did… Making Aaryona forget like that. Even Mother knows that.” He gave a smile. “It’s the way the world works.”

Nathaniel thought about. “I don’t think so… I think their souls were lost when DaeLuin was but my sister has a chance at happiness with Eirik. I think she needs to take it and not hold back this time. Also, it would be dangerous for her to get pregnant with whatever Nemesis is going to do… So we shall see.”

Thinking about motherhood he chuckled. “Maternal instincts. Those that act motherly like my mother are more apt to being good mothers. She is after all the embodiment of motherly.”

For a moment he came over and struggled to do something. “Here, I’ll show you.” It was tough for a moment but at first, he kissed her forehead. It was warm and inviting. It was only for a quick moment. “Family often greets each other with warmth like that… While Mother and Drae would greet each other like this,” there was more hesitation but he gently took her face, his thumbs caressing the sides of her face, and kissed her softly. It lasted only a few moments. “See the difference?” His face was red but it was the only way to teach someone like Iris.

"The only thing that separates romance and familial bonds are the meanings behind them. There is a different meaning behind the second one compared to the first." He backed away from her obviously giving himself and her more space since it had been awkward.

An object lesson. She learned quickly from those, but this one seemed different. Nathaniel looked like he hesitated in whatever he was about to to. When he pulled her in and gently kissed her forehead, she wasn't quite sure how to react. She had seen this action done several different times, by Nathaniel to Aaryona, Lady Angela to several of her children, and even Master Drae had shown this affection to the children and even Angela. She took note of how it made her feel, it was sweet, and warm, and safe. She realized that's why parents made such shows of affection, to reassure the other individual that they were safe with them. She nodded slowly as Nathaniel explained that this was typically how families greeted or embraced. She knew that sometimes there was more to it than that, sometimes the action was accompanied by a hug, or tickling, and decided it all depended on the situation in which the affection was being given. In this case there was barely more than that to it, since Nathaniel was simply trying to make a point. 

The softness of his hands on her face, however, scattered these thoughts as she looked up at him in confusion before he leaned in and pressed his lips softly to hers. Her brows furrowed as he did this, and though it only lasted a mere matter of seconds, the rush of different emotions she felt was… well overwhelming. Firstly, her senses went into overdrive. She could smell more than the scents and perfumes that he bathed with, things that she otherwise might not have smelled had it not been to his close proximity. She was also acutely aware of the level of yellow-gold color that highlighted his hair, and how it fell across his forehead and past his ears. She could feel both how strong he was, and how tense he was, and clearly this motion made him uncomfortable. 

She also noted, the strange sensations she felt. Her heart-rate had increased, and she was tense too but not in an unpleasant sort of way. She suddenly felt like she had hummingbirds flitting around in her stomach. Confusion was prominent too. All this in the span of a few seconds made her feel dizzy and uncoordinated when Nathaniel stepped back. 

"See the difference?"

Her voice felt like it had temporarily failed her and she nodded as he retreated some distance away from her. His face was almost as red as his hair. It was… well the only term she thought could properly describe it was 'cute', but that almost seemed too childish a way to describe someone as elegant as Nathaniel. 

"I think I understand," she finally said, though her head still spun with questions she wanted to ask and understand better. More specifically why her body had reacted in such a way. "I apologize, that must have been an unpleasant thing for you to have to teach me," she said giving him a quick bow. She hadn't acted like this towards him for several weeks now since they had become much more familiar with each other, but it seemed prudent now since she had caused him an inconvenience and some level of discomfort. 

"I've seen both of these demonstrated by Lady Angela and Master Drae. I've also observed you when you are with the Sularian women. You often kiss their hands, particularly when you part ways with them. What does this signify?" she inquired, reverting back to her more inquisitive robotic behavior, her face suddenly lacking in emotion as it had when they had first become acquainted.